Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations

Labor Board Revises Union Eligibility

The National Labor Relations Board on Tuesday ruled 3-2 that nurses who spend "a regular and substantial portion" of their work time performing supervisory functions should be classified as supervisors and therefore be ineligible for union representation, the Washington Post reports (Russakoff, Washington Post, 10/4).

The decision directly involves Michigan-based Oakwood Healthcare and is one of three cases collectively called the "Kentucky River" cases. The cases were filed in response to a 2001 Supreme Court suit involving the definition of a supervisor (Srivastava, Sacramento Bee, 10/4).

The ruling states that supervisory classification should go to workers who serve in a supervisory role "according to a pattern or schedule" and "at least 10% to 15% of their total work time" (Washington Post, 10/4). Supervisory functions include the use of independent judgment and the assignment and direction of staff, according to the ruling, which "could have major implications for the broader labor force," the AP/Philadelphia Inquirer reports (Lester, AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/4).

However, the ruling's specific implications "are somewhat murky because it shifts power to individual employers, who may or may not decide to reclassify their workers as supervisors," the Bee reports (Sacramento Bee, 10/4). The AP/Inquirer reports that the decision "is likely to be challenged all the way to the Supreme Court, where twice before the high court has overturned such rulings and remanded them to the NLRB for more work" (AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/4).

Labor Reaction

AFL-CIO President John Sweeney said the ruling is an invitation for employers "to strip millions of workers of their right to have a union by reclassifying them as 'supervisors' in name only" (San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/4). Sweeney cited NLRB's dissenting opinion, which said the ruling "threatens to create a new class of workers under federal labor law: workers who have neither the genuine prerogatives of management nor the statutory rights of ordinary employees" (AP/Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/4).

Stewart Acuff, national organizing director for AFL-CIO, said, "This is easily the most important challenge in front of American workers right now, and we intend to fight it as hard as we can" (Sacramento Bee, 10/4).

The labor-backed Economic Policy Institute said the new definition of supervisor might affect eight million workers in fields ranging from construction to accounting (Washington Post, 10/4).

EPI Vice President Ross Eisenbrey said, "If the ruling remains unchanged, this is going to have a devastating effect on unionization in the country."

California Nurses Association President Rose Ann DeMoro said, "Essentially, we have a decision that ultimately opens the door to the deunionization of registered nurses and silencing their voice." DeMoro said CNA nurses are ready to strike if "any employer decides to act on this harebrained decision" (Sacramento Bee, 10/4).

Other Reaction

U.S. Chamber of Commerce attorney Stephen Bokat said the ruling sets "a good, clear standard," adding, "When undergoing any organizing efforts by unions, you have to know who in the workforce belongs to you and who belongs to the union" (San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/4).

Bokat said the unions' warnings were similar to "Chicken Little saying 'the sky is going to fall.'" Bokat said, "The business community thinks the standard is reasonable, but this is not a sea change." He added, "We were kind of disappointed" (Washington Post, 10/4).

Bob Bruno, a labor and politics professor at the University of Illinois, said the ruling "cuts to the very heart of who is protected under the National Labor Relations Act." Bruno said, "Under the Bush administration, one of the ways the NLRB has been narrowing the power of the labor movement or weakening its capacity is by defining who's protected under it" (San Diego Union-Tribune, 10/4).

In addition, NPR's "All Things Considered" on Tuesday reported on the ruling. The segment includes comments from DeMoro; Nelson Lichtenstein, a professor of labor history at the University of California-Santa Barbara; and Nancy Schiffer, an attorney with AFL-CIO (Langfitt, "All Things Considered," NPR, 10/3).